There were almost no photos of the Queen with Prince Andrew at the service for Prince Philip. The photographer was forbidden.
At the memorial service for Prince Philip on March 29 at Westminster Abbey, Prince Andrew attracted particular attention: the disgraced Duke of York accompanied his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on the way to her seat. Now it has become known: The arrival of the Queen was not originally intended to be photographed. The only photographer of the event, Richard Pohle, revealed this.
The Times photographer is said to have been informed by a palace spokesman that he would not be allowed to take pictures of the Queen until she had taken her seat. “Of course I resisted the order,” writes Pohle. The reason: “If the BBC broadcasts the entire event around the world, I should be the only official photographer allowed to take a picture.” There had previously been speculation about the Queen’s arrival: would she arrive with a walker or even a wheelchair? “If I didn’t have a photo of it, all the British media would be asking: why not?” Pohle said.
Prince Andrew and the Queen
The surprising fact that Prince Andrew would accompany the Queen to the service “changed everything,” he continues. “I absolutely had to photograph it. The Queen’s arrival was now the most important event in the news.” Eventually he was allowed to take pictures. But even with permission, the photo almost never came about: When those present rose from their seats for the arrival of the Queen, Richard Pohle was no longer able to see the monarch and her son from his point of view.
So he got up and quickly hurried to the aisle between the rows of seats – “opposite the place where the queen would arrive,” says the photographer. “Suddenly stepping away from an official position while on a royal list is the worst of all cardinal sins.” A spokesman wanted to stop him, “but I hurried past.”
The photo succeeded – and went around the world. “I knew this was going to be the most important image of the ceremony that the press was looking for. I walked back to my official position, past the frowning press secretary, and whispered an apology,” Pohle writes.
Many royals said goodbye to Prince Philip
High-ranking members from many royal families came to London’s Westminster Abbey on March 29. Among the 1800 invited guests were Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, her husband King Willem-Alexander and his mother Princess Beatrix. The Spanish King Felipe VI. and his wife Letizia, as well as King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium were also present. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Prince Albert II of Monaco and King Carl XVI also attended the service. Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.
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Source: Stern
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